This application claims priority to the U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 60/541,856 filed on Feb. 4, 2004. The present invention relates in general to personalizing articles in real-time, and more particularly, without limitation, to a system and method of personalizing jewelry in real-time.
Jewelry and other luxury and/or ornamental articles are often offered in many materials and configurations. Purchasers of such items frequently wish to have unique pieces and/or pieces that have personal significance. In addition, many purchasers wish to include at least some creative input into an article's design.
Historically, such customization and personalization was attained by visiting an article designer or reviewing actual samples or pictures from a catalog. For example, a potential ring purchaser may have handled dozens of ring blanks, looked at many stone options and settings in a catalog, and picked a ring size. The purchaser would then typically have to wait for several days or weeks to see the completed ring. In many cases, this would be the first time the purchaser would see the selected combination of ring, stone, and setting. If the purchaser was dissatisfied with the finished combination, there would be few options other than scrapping the ring and starting over or going through with purchasing the less-than-perfect ring. The problem is exacerbated when personalization options are presented, such as adding names or logos to a ring or other jewelry.
Adding a personalized name to a name plate, such as on a name necklace, may involve several variables that are not present in other customizations. For example, adding a name could include choosing the name (ordering of letters), font, color (if any), placement technique (e.g. engraving, relief, screenprint, etc.), location, and size. These multiple considerations make it difficult for a prospective purchaser to visualize their personalized name in a stylized font. This lack of information may adversely affect the purchasing process.
Similar problems exist for other articles. For example, a company making a large purchase of corporate glassware may wish to see samples of the finished personalized product prior to making a large purchase. While samples can be printed and sent through the mail, such a process is slow and cumbersome and is likely to allow for viewing of a large number of samples. Expense to the glassware designer is also a concern with such a process.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a system and method for personalizing an article interactively and providing a visualization of the completed item. The system and method should be user-friendly and enable the user to view a sample of the article being personalized to assist in the purchasing and personalization process.